Group F has lived up to its billing as the group of death, with the Gunners, Dortmund and Napoli all level on six points after the opening three rounds of fixtures, while Marseille have bared the brunt of the punishment, sitting rock bottom after three successive defeats. Arsene Wengers Premier League leaders will now head to Germany looking to avenge their 2-1 home defeat in the reverse fixture in October, and head into the tie on the back of an impressive 2-0 win over Liverpool in the English top flight. That result took the north London giants five points clear in the English standings, giving the side plenty of confidence ahead of another grueling test. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopps men, European Cup runners-up last season, are also flying high in the Bundesliga and trail leaders Bayern Munich by only a single point, while they have won their last seven home matches in continental action and eight in all competitions this term. To add to that, Dortmund have also never lost on home soil to an English side in the Champions League, winning four and drawing three, although the last time Arsenal traveled to Germany they came away with the scalp of Bayern Munich in one of only two defeats the eventual Bundesliga winners suffered that season. Klopp, who is set to return from a two-match UEFA touchline ban, will be looking to Robert Lewandowski to continue leading the line up front, having netted a hat-trick in the 6-1 thrashing of Stuttgart on Friday. However, Klopp will be without captain Sebastian Kehl (ankle), Lukasz Piszczek (groin) and Ilkay Gundogan (back). For Arsenal, the match is thought to have come too soon for Mathieu Flamini, who sat out this weekends win over the Reds, while Theo Walcott (abdomen), Lukas Podolski (hamstring), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby (both knee) remain long-term casualties. Another blow for Wenger is the news Jack Wilshere rolled his ankle in training on Monday and will not feature, meaning the Frenchman is likely to stick to the same XI that started at the Emirates on Saturday, with Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey - goal scorers on the day - lining up in the middle along with Mesut Ozil.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 07:51:30 +0000
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